Thursday, June 17, 2010

Yummmy Peanut Chutney

Perfect with Dosa, Idly or simply Licking it off from the bowl!!! This is a 5min mouth-watering Andhra recipe and you will end up wanting more and more! (Thanks to my roommate Tripura for this delicious receipe)

Ingredients
1/2 cup of Peanuts
3-4 Dry red chillies
2 Teaspoon of Tamarind paste
A pinch of Salt and Sugar
1 teaspoon oil
A pinch of Mustard seeds & Jeera

(All ingredients are readily available in Hillcroft grocery stores)

Method
Dry roast the peanuts and red chillies (5-8min) until the skin of the peanuts turn dark brown. Allow it to cool down a bit. Remove the dry skin of the peanuts by rubbing them with your hands. Now you have white peanuts and dry red chillies.

Put them in the mixer and grind. To this powder, add the tamarind paste, salt & sugar. Grind again until it forms a smooth paste. Add some water if it is too thick.

Pour out the paste in a bowl. Heat oil in a small bowl and add mustard and jeera seeds. When the mustard seeds crackle, pour it onto the paste. The Chutney is ready!!

Ready-to-pour dosa batter is available at Hillcroft. Invite your friends for a round of dosa & chutney and receive their compliments. Enjoy your summer with some native cooking and spruce up your creativity.

-Rajatha

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Graduation!

There is something very surreal about graduation - one day you are a student at the University and the next day you step out into the big corporate world. People tend to believe they will stay the same but this one day changes a lot of lives.

This year, I attended the Graduation Ceremony for my friends and trust me, it is one of the finest ceremonies I have attended. The stadium which housed the event was elegantly decorated and the moment you enter the hall, a feeling of pride surges inside you. The band from the Music School plays the most wonderful tunes for the occasion, giving the event the regalia it deserves. The event itself is conducted by a strict code of protocol which gives it an almost military style atmosphere of honoring the graduates.

The event started with all the graduate students taking a walk around the hall and being seated at their designated seats. Then the President of UH - Dr. Renu Khator and the Deans of the colleges, all dressed in the graduation attires lined with golden silk marched around the hall and took their places on the stage. Their attires reminded me of the cloaks worn by the professors in the Harry Potter movies. This followed by a brief speech by the President and other honorary dignitaries to open the ceremony.

Then began the actual process of hooding the graduates on stage and honoring them. It was a beautiful sight to watch with all friends & family members of the graduates cheering them up!! Its like a dream come true for them specially for parents who adore you the most. I could clearly see the twinkle in their eyes and a sense of pride, a sense of achievement that their son/daughter finally graduated.

I was dreaming about the day when I would graduate too..hehe..
Lots of pictures were taken to cherish this big day and when we joined our friends after the ceremony, it was one big joyful party!! I wish them good luck for their future endeavors and pray they make it big in their lives!

-Rajatha